Shadow of Intent
by hollowheart15
Summary: He could smell her hair in his nostrils, and even in the darkness of his mind a new light broke through.  For the first time in his life he felt as if he were free, this weight lifted off his chest.  He smiled, leaning his head on hers, and sleep took him
1. Black Steel Prologue

Hollowheart- Well now, this isn't my first story, but I hope you all like it.

And, thankfully, I don't own Love Hina, or any of its characters. All new characters are owned by me, and may be used with my permission.

Shadow of Intent

Black Steel (Prologue)

Keitaro spat curses as he bowled through the air, figures rushing past his vision. He landed on the balcony of the Hinata Dorms with a loud thud. His ears rang as he looked up to see Motoko approaching him, her Katana outstretched as if it were an extension of her own arm.

"Wait, wait, I give up!" he said hurriedly as he saw the samurai prepare another swing, "You win today!"

Motoko chuckled to herself mildly. "Today?" she said, "You haven't bested me in a single sword match yet."

Keitaro laughed nervously as she stared at his sword lying on the ground below the balcony, "You really sent me flying today."

"I know..." she smiled, extending her hand. The landlord let out a sigh as he pulled himself up, then looked out down the steps as he heard a car door slamming. _What could that be?_

The tenants stared dumbfounded at the newcomer that now stood at the door. He bore every resemblance to Keitaro, except he had more detailed features, and was by far better looking. He looked to be barely 17, his black hair falling around his temple, nearly shrouding his eyes like a dark mist.

"Keisuke?" Keitaro asked the boy as sweat formed at his brow.

"Long time no see Keitaro," Keisuke said as he nodded, and looked around to all the tenants. "I see you've been living in good company."

"Your telling me!" Kitsune laughed, "Without him I could hardly live at all."

Keisuke smiled as he turned to his brother, "We have a lot to talk about; do you think you could spare a moment?"

"Of course," Keitaro said, happy to see his brother after so many years, "Come with me back to my room."

Keisuke followed him through the halls, ignoring the stares of the other tenants. The resident swordsmen stopped him, eyeing him strongly. "Wait a sec! You cant just walk by us like that! Who are you?"

"Yea!" Naru stammered, shooting glares at her nervous husband.

Keisuke rubbed his head in confusion, "You never told the about me Kei?"

Keitaro held his arms out, "Im sorry. Everyone, this is my brother, Keisuke Urashima."

Keisuke nodded at the residents, "Its nice to meet you. Now if you'll excuse me, I have more important matters to discuss." Five death glares bounced off his back as he disappeared into Keitaro's room.

They sat down at his heated table, Keitaro pushing his textbooks aside. Keisuke eyed the hole in the ceiling nervously; he was sure he heard movement. He shrugged it off, and instead looked down to his brother, who had begun to eye him curiously.

"I hear you got married?" Keisuke said lightly, his eyes tracing across the room.

"Yes, to an ice queen" he smiled, but began to notice that Keisuke was searching for something. "I know I haven't kept in touch, but what brings you around the Hinata house little brother?"

Keisuke smiled up at him, "Im in need of a place to stay. Recently things got bad for me. Mom kicked me out because I wasn't attending school regularly."

"Why not? You need your education."

Keisuke frowned, "I don't have time for trivial things like that. I have bigger and better things to worry about."

Keitaro sighed, "Well, if that's all you need, then I suppose I can give you a room, if you pay the rent, AND put those martial arts skills to good use..." he said, eying the Katana in his luggage.

Keisuke tilted his head, "How?"

"Well..." Keitaro sweat dropped, "Lets just say our resident swordsman has a thing for living targets." Keisuke contemplated this, then nodded. Keitaro smiled, "So we have an agreement? Let me show you to your room."

"Thank you big brother." Keitaro almost missed that sound as he exited his room, but somehow things seemed empty to him. Something inside his brother was lost, and replaced with something new, something with a purpose.

He stopped before they reached his room. "Keisuke...why are you really here?" he asked, concern washing over his features.

The boy looked down at his brother, all sincerity washed away. "To protect you, dear brother..." he said.


	2. Connections

Hollowheart- Back again. To all of you, thank you for reading. I apologize for the prologue, I like to keep them short. Do enjoy...

And no, I don't own Love Hina, or its characters. My characters, however, are mine, and may be used with my permission.

Shadow of Intent

Connections

Silence passed time on as the two brothers stared at each other. Keisuke's eyes burned into the landlords, digging tunnels of discovery and knowledge. His piercing gaze read him like a book, through clouded deception, he pierced his brothers very soul; Keitaro was utterly afraid.

"Protect me?" he asked, dumbfounded. Keisuke merely nodded back at him. "Protect me from what?"

Keisuke turned to walk past him, his presence sending chills down Keitaro's spine as if someone had just walked over his grave, defiling his essence. "From the Portal."

"What do you mean?" Keitaro asked his brother, his eyes ful of question. Keisuke turned to answer him, but was cut off short as an explosion sounded, followed by Motoko plowing through the wall.

She was covered in dust and debris her normally black hair a light shade of white, "This is an all girls dorm..." she said between breaths, her anger clearly visible around her temple like a halo. "I've put up with this idiot for far too long, but itll be damn impossible to deal with two of them!"

Keisuke tilted his head to the side in question, "Was that a threat, Miss Aoyoma?"

She looked up at him confused, "How do you know my name...?"

He shook his head, "Thats not important. If your going to fight me then get it over with, otherwise I have matters to discuss with my brother."

She was suddenly taken by anger at this boy who seemed to act as if she was nothing, no threat at all. The other girls popped around the corner as she swung at him, his body enveloped in an explosion of dust and debris. Keitaro sweat dropped, "Motoko...don't overdue it, he may not be immortal like me, but he's not submissive like me either..."

Motoko chuckled to herself, seeming to think the battle was already one. "I cant believe you just admitted tha..." Her words were cut off as she stared at emptyness before her. She had expected to see the unconcious body of the newcomer, but instead there was nothing.

"Slow..." he said from behind her. She turned around to swing at him again, but was too late as he had already jabbed her in the flank spinning wildly as he flew away from her to safety. She flew through the walls of the dorm, landing in the hot spring outside. The water, hot as it was, seemed to cool her down as she arose from the bath to meet her attacker. She positioned herself now, taking her opponent far more seriously. She pulled her sword up close to her body, in a quick striking stance, since speed seemed to be his greatest attribute.

Keitaro ran behind him, yet keeping his distance out of fear of his brothers deep rage. Experiences from his childhood made him remember his rage; it was deep, fathoming far below th depths of his soul. "Please Keisuke, she does this to every guy who comes here!"

Keisuke ignored his brother, and continued to walk on.

Motoko focused on his body as he moved toward her through the ruins of the wall, but gasped at what she saw. The ki outline that every human-being possessed was not visible on him. Either he was weak minded, or was so good he knew how to hide it. The only other she had met like this was her dear Tsuriko, who had proved deadly in combat. She sighed inwardly, relaxing her body, yet tensing the muscles in her arms and legs. This boy may yet prove to be a master of combat.

"Do you intend to pursue this further Motoko?" he asked as he strode toward her, his arms raised, outurned and shaking as he channeled more ki into his fists, "or have you learned your lesson?" He stopped, positioning himself for yet another attack, one arm posed for defense, the other held out for attack. His eyes were glowing with something deep inside, not anger, not excitement, but bloodlust.

She growled, anger suddenly taking over her body once again. She flew at him in a rage, her sword poised high in the attack that would crush his bones. Keisuke pushed his palm flat on the ground, then, firmly, dissapeared. Motoko landed, her sword cutting through nothingness, but whirled around to meet him as he came at her with a flying drop-kick. She pushed him away, his feet landing on the stone softly, like that of a cat. She drew back her sword and struck once again, this time with more agility, her blade cutting through the wind. Blood flew on Keisukes face as he performed a two-handed sword stop. Motoko looked down at his kneeling figure in disbelief, _he blocked my strike with his bare hands...but how?_

"Nice try, but hot-headedness will get you nowhere." he stated bluntly. Then he pushed her blade back, spun around, and firmly planted his palm in the middle of her chest. She flew back, coughing violently as she landed against the wall of the dorms, this time merely bouncing off. Her body overcome by weakness, she crawled toward him feebly.

"What...did you do to me?" she said through deep, gasping breaths. Her muscles had no strength, and it took every ounce of willpower just to speak.

"I slowed your heart and calmed your nerves," he said, holding his palm out, "by stimulating the right nerves in your body, the other reacted violently. Lets just say your body had a power fluctuation." He then walked over to the rack and threw her a towel. "Don't ever attack me again," he said harshly. Then he walked back into the dorms, leaving her lying out in the cold in her wet clothes as the others rushed to her aid.

Shinobu bent down to examine her as the others caught up, "Motoko, are you alright?"

She nodded her head as she pulled herself to standing, "Im fine, just shaken is all."

Su looked at her wide eyed, "I've never seen you beaten like that before Motoko. That guy was really something!" Motoko responded by knocking the girl in the head. "Hey!" she cried in defiance, "I was only joking!"

Kitsune and Naru looked in the direction he had walked, and then to each other. "Maybe we should avoid him for now..." Kitsune said. Naru nodded to her, then bent down to look after Motoko.

oooooo

"You have some explaining to do," Keitaro said to his brother sternly as he sipped at his tea, "What exactly is this portal you mention?"

Keisuke rubbed his head, "I cant exactly tell you everything Keitaro. Do you remember the hina Blade? The one you all fought to protect?"

Keitaro nodded. That cursed sword had caused them a lot of trouble, and almost killed him and Motoko.

"Well," Keisuke said, "an informant has come to my Order saying that various powers all across japan have learned of its existence. They wish to steal it and use it to open the Pools of Time."

"The Pools of Time?" questioned Keitaro.

"Yes," his brother said. "One who opens the Pools of Time controls time itself, which, seemingly enough, would change the world. The organization I work for would like to prevent this."

Keitaro nodded again. He knew his brother had a contract with the government, but for what he had no idea.

"Anyways, I am here to protect you from those who would come and use the Portal, or Hina Blade, for naught, until more from my order can arrive here. The others are...taking care of some business..."

Keitaro sat back, "If what you say is true, ill have to move everyone from the dorm..."

"No," Keisuke stated flatly, "I understand you there, but the government does not wish for anyone to know of this. Thus, I don't want to alert the residents of what is going on." He shook his head, " I know that it isn't safe, but please, protecting them is all I can do right now..."

Keitaro noticed the lines of worry in his brothers young face, and for a moment he felt sympathy on his position.

Keisuke looked up at him after a brief respite, "Don't worry, I doubt anyone knows the actual location of the Portal anyways, I think your pretty safe for now."

Keitaro sighed in relief as he sank back in his seat.

Keisuke got up, "Well, I apologize what happened with Motoko this morning," he said, pausing for a moment. "Anyways, I should get to my room, im sorry for the inconvenience."

As Keisuke left keitaro couldn't help but wonder what his brother was hiding from him. He knew he hadn't received the full truth, and that he was most likely in more danger than he let on.

He sighed to himself, "Time will tell..." he said.


	3. Precontact

HollowHeart- Oy! Here is another chapter, quite obviously (I apologize for the shortness of the previous two) and I do hope you enjoy. Thank you again for reading. And please, review or message me telling how you like it.

No, I don't own Love Hina...or anything at all for that matter. turns out pockets and sighs

Shadow of Intent

Pre-Contact

Keisuke groaned as he pulled the bed-sheets off his face. His hair was untidy, completely out of order. He sighed as he walked to the bathroom to get cleaned up. It had been nearly two weeks since the youth had moved into the dorm, and to the best of his knowledge, the girls were steering clear of him. When he walked through the halls in the morning everyone seemed to shrink away, the kitchen becoming silent when he walked in. Due to this, he usually sat outside and ate, enjoying the warm summers morning on the rooftops of the Hinata House.

He usually kept to himself, occasionally talking to Keitaro when the moment passed him by. He and his brother were no longer close, not like they used to be. He feared this may be due to the years he spent without speaking to him. He let out a sigh, his job forfeited all family life. His duties to the Hand and his country were far too important to squander on his personal life.

Walking out of the shower, he dressed himself in his finest robes and left the room, heading to the rooftop to stare at the sunrise and eat his breakfast.

He was met with stares as he walked into the kitchen, retrieving an omelet from the table, he walked out of the room.

oooooo

He sat on the roof, seemingly full with his empty plate to the side. Just as he prepared to take it back down to the kitchen, however, he caught a glimpse of Motoko training on the balcony.

oooooo

She let out a breath with each strike, her wooden sword careening through the air in neat arcs. _I must be weak, that boy bested me in battle so easily..._

She grunted as she continued to train, but was interrupted as she saw Keisuke jump down from the roof.

"Do you train up here often?" he asked gently, and to this she looked at him with annoyance.

"Why are you talking to me?" she asked. "Don't you know? Everyone here is afraid of you because of our fight."

He let out a sigh, "That is why Im talking you. I just wanted to say, im sorry for the other day. I got a little too carried away..." he paused, "Its just, I don't take well to people threatening me, much less a head on attack."

Motoko ceased her training again, and looked at him in utter confusion. _Hes apologizing? What brought this about?_ She closed her eyes, "No, im sorry. I wont attack you again, that I can promise. I have trouble controlling my anger sometimes..."

"Its okay," he said with a warm smile. Something overcame her; for the past week he was completely cold and withdrawn, but now he seemed to be different, more human than before. Today he seemed to be much nicer than everyone gave him credit for.

"Since I beat you, would you like me to help you train?"

"Um..." she stalled. Taking help from a man was something far beneath her, but he WAS good. Something like this could be very beneficial to her.

Keisuke felt the eyes of the other residents on him as she answered him, "Sure, but just a little bit...I ca do fine on my own."

"Okay..." he chuckled to himself.

oooooo

Shinobu and Su looked on in wonder as Keisuke and Motoko trained together. "This is new..." Shinobu said from behind the glass.

Su looked over at her, "Maybe hes not so bad after all..."

Shinobu nodded at her friend, "Its just because we haven't been talking to him, I should make it a thing to be nicer."

Su jumped on her back, playing with her ears, "Oooohhhh! Does Shinobu have a crush?"

"Ack! Get off!" The two laughed as they wrestled on the floor like they were kids again.

Haruka walked up behind them, shaking her head as if they were children, she looked out the window at the two as they were training. "Well ill be..." she said, her eyes wide in disbelief. It was unlike Motoko to accept help from any man at all, but here she was recieving training from this one.

She put a hand to her chin, her eyes squinted in the most serious face she could manage, _Maybe hell do some good in this place..._

oooooo

As the next day followed, Motoko and Keisuke continued to train on the balcony, and he noted that in just one day her performance went up drastically. He didn't know if his strength was a catalyst for her, or if he was just a good teacher, but Motoko seemed to be doing much better.

Alone on the balcony they sparred, Motoko rushing in with adjacent strikes from her Boku, but Keisuke was too fast and dodged everything. At one point she almost had him across the face with the thing, but at the last moment he drove his heels into the ground and turned backwards, flipping though the air away from his opponent. Not once did he draw his sword unless he wished to end the match, which usually happened quickly and with swift grace.

oooooo

Keisuke stood against the sun, drying his hair from a soak in the hot spring, as Shinobu walked past him with a relatively large load of clothes. He walked past wordlessly, but at the last moment she tripped over her own feet, the clothes falling in a pile to the floor. He reacted instantly, catching her in his arms before she hit the ground, he looked down at her, "You okay?"

Shaking, she nodded, "Yea," she stammered nervously, "Just a little shaken up is all."

He bent down to hep her pick up the clothes, folding them neatly and stacking them one by one back into the basket. When everything was done, she bowed to him quickly, "Th-Thank you!" she said, blushing, and then hurriedly made her way down the hall.

He shook his head in confusion, _What a shy girl..._

He continued into the living room, passing by Naru and Keitaro's room, he stopped for a brief moment.

They sat alone, studying their books in each others arms, and Naru would lean back and kiss him passionately. These outbursts were frequent, and usually lasted a few minuets, followed by cuddling, then they would return to their work, and repeat the process all over again.

_Im happy for you brother_ he thought as he walked into the living room, only to find himself staring at Kitsune and Su. Kitsune was drinking a glass of sake, her face slightly flushed, and Su was toying with a mini device of some sort to the side. "Well hello there cutie..." she said as she looked up from the glass. "Why don't you sit down and have a drink with me?"

"Why not," he said, and he sat down on the couch next to her. She poured him a glass of the strongest smelling sake he had ever seen, and it tasted just as strong as he threw it back and downed it in one big gulp.

"My my," she said, "You really know how to down that stuff...I might've just found a new drinkin' buddy!" She laughed to the side. From what Keisuke could tell, she was drunk.

He placed the glass on the table, "I don't make it a thing to drink often, but I promise you on the next occasion ill celebrate with you," he said, then added, "If you trust me." He was clearly joking, but Kitsune, drunk as she was, leaned a little bit closer and put her finger on his chest, "Well now, what kind of bad things do you get into, huh?" she asked in a soft whisper.

He got up to walk out of the room, "You have no idea." he stated bluntly as he threw on his jacket to leave. Su looked up at him as he walked out the door, then to Kitsune. The fox-woman merely shrugged, as if to say "I don't know" without words.

oooooo

They all sat around the table as Shinobu served them each their dinner. Displayed was Miso Chili, Takouyai and Su's favorite, and Shinobu's most recent addition to the menu, banana dumplings. As they began to dig in, Keisuke silently walked into the room, he gathered up a plate, bowed to the blue-haired girl as she sweat dropped, and started to leave the room when Naru and Haruka caught him. "Why do you leave?" Haruka asked.

"Yea," Naru said, quite politely, a change from her usual aggressive behavior, "You're a member of this dorm too, whether is seems that way or not. Sit down and have a meal with us."

He was bewildered, to him it seemed that the residents had finally stopped turning a cold cheek to him. "Thank you..." he said kindly with a smile, then sat down at an empty space next to Su.

The eating and talking resumed, banana dumplings occasionally vanishing from Keisuke's plate, but he didn't mind, he enjoyed the meal, and was more than happy that all the residents had finally accepted him. Through the dinner, they questioned him about anything and everything, from his age, birth name, to his past and where he went to school. He seemed to be the center of interest at the table, surrounded by laughter and warm smiles.

Looking on, Keitaro sighed to himself, then looked over to his lovely wife. "This is what things should be like..." he said, stroking her hair, "I love you sweetheart."

She eyed him suspiciously, "Flattery will get you nowhere Kei..." she said as she drank from her soup, then she winked at him, "Not at the table...at least." He smiled and leaned over to kiss her. _This is Hinata house, this is my home._

oooooo

The blanket of night had been thrown over the lonely town of Hinata, and two figures stood alone in the darkness, staring down upon the town with amused expressions on their faces.

The first leaned slightly to the side, "So its confirmed then," he said to the second, smaller figure, "The artifact is inside that house...?"

"Yes," the second figure replied, his face masked in shadow, "I can sense its dark aura from here..."

"When do you plan to strike?" the first asked in a questioning tone.

The second stood up on the roof of the building, a gentle breeze blowing his short, white hair and cape back. His eyes were white, pupil-less it seemed. He pulled a stone out of his pocket and gave it a squeeze, a faint light showing through his palm, then he placed it back in his pocket. "Ill make my move when the time is right," he said, "Keep in touch, Gari..." Then he leaped off the roof, his shape disappearing into the black of night.

Gari sighed to himself, tilting his large circular hat down over his eyes, "I hope he doesn't overdue it..." he said to himself quietly.

With him the wind carried a sense of foreboding, one that Keisuke felt even as he dreamt in silence.

HollowHeart- I've decided to set the plot in motion a bit, since this story is excessively long, and I want to have room for a sequel. I hope you all like it, and please, leave some reviews!

_Till next time_

HollowHeart15


	4. First Contact

HollowHeart- Well hello there. First and foremost, I would like to thank those of you who have helped me along a little bit. Im here to learn, so any suggestions would be welcome

please, review

anyways, to those of you who think im not going in depth on the main characters personal life, I apologize, but that comes later. For now he has to appear mysterious, or I wouldn't be doing my job.

Also, I know you all have seen this story before, new guy comes to dorms, kicks a bunch of ass, acts really cool, and saves the day along with getting with the hot chick.

This, I assure you, will prove to be a bit different

Pay attention now, on with the show

I don't own love hina, not that you care...

Shadow of Intent

First Contact

The day was young as Keisuke and Motoko dueled on the balcony. Their bodies seemed to dance, becoming intertwined, then breaking off in a melody driven by struggle. The sounds of wood clashing on wood rang across the dorms, through the warm morning air, awaking a sleeping Kitsune who, until her then, hadn't felt the effects of her hangover.

As Shinobu cleaned up for breakfast and prepared for lunch, she was startled by the sound, but she chuckled to herself none the less, _They're at it again._

Su was in her own little world, inventing a new weapon to try out on her next victim, a unique set of armor that enabled the wearer to move faster, and become stronger than before. The sounds of the clash went over her head like a cloud.

Keitaro looked up from his studying as he heard the sounds, then looked over to his stunning wife. She paused her cleaning to bend down and give him a kiss on the cheek, smiling warmly, a smile that melted the ice of his heart.

Haruka was busy serving tea to her customers as she heard the sounds of the battle, everyone in the teahouse looked out the window in confusion. She put her hand to her forehead, "I wish they wouldn't cause such a racket. They could at least wait till I close for the morning." Haruka had just recently opened her tea shop for the summer, every morning the elderly came in and sat down to drink a steaming cup of tea or coffee and read their newspapers, but occasionally Motoko and Keisuke were so loud that they drove her customers away.

Indeed, the sounds of their combat traveled through the very mists of Hinata, causing an odd number of people to look up in the sky in confusion. A tall man with short, dark hair and glasses began to smile as he drew a drag from his cigarette, the blonde haired girl next to him smiling happily. "No place like Hinata..." he said to her, and she responded with a nod.

Back on the balcony, Motoko swatted relentlessly at her opponent, but he was always ahead of her one step of the way, whirling and dodging her attacks with ease. It seemed to her that no matter how much better she got, he would always be one step ahead of her.

"Your taking it easy on me!" she yelled between strikes.

Keisuke dodged yet another fatal strike, and jumped a few meters away. "Not quite," he said with a smile, "I prefer to call it holding back!"

"That's-the-same-thing!" she growled in frustration, striking out with each word she said. On the last word she brought her sword down on him, and he spun around and placed his hand on the back of it, sending it to the ground. She lost balance, and as he spun again he merely tapped her in the back, causing her to fall. She looked back up in frustration, only to stop in silence. What Keisuke held in his hand was the drawstring to her Gi, and she had realized that she lay in front of him bare naked.

Blushing madly, she brought her sword up on him like Naru's fist, sending him flying through the air. "You PERVERT!"

As he flew through the air, he took the time to note what a lovely morning it was, but was interrupted as gravity took over and he went spiraling to the ground.

Kitsune chuckled in her bed, "He seems to be fitting in just fine."

oooooo

Keisuke landed, to the best of his knowledge, somewhere in the misty town of Hinata. Around him stood the buildings and shops, towering over him like the shadow of a grave. He looked around, and, when he could find out where he was, decided to just sit down and have a cup of tea. As he sat at the bar, the tall man with glasses sat down next to him, and ordered a hot tea. He looked over at Keisuke, "Excuse me kid, but do you know the way to the Hinata apartments?"

Keisuke blinked, "Yea...I live there."

A blonde haired girl walked up behind him and jumped on his neck, "No you don't you liar! That's an all girls dorm! The only guy that lives there is Keitaro you dork!" With her last word she knocked him in his already throbbing head.

"Sarah!" the man said as he pulled her away, "that's no way to treat a stranger!"

"Sorry daddy..." she said with a somber expression. Keisuke wasn't sure whether he should be insulted or not by the mans words. He seemed to be an air-head. "What brings you to the Hinata Apartments?" he asked.

The man looked back up at him, "Oh! Im sorry!" he laughed, extending his hand, "The names Seta, what's yours?"

"Keisuke," he said, shaking Seta's hand.

"Nice to meet you. Anyways, I've come to visit my part-timer. I need his help on a certain excavation, highly classified. We've discovered some ruins on a mountain some ways from here, and I figured that since I was in the area I should employ his help."

Keisuke nodded, "If you wait, ill take you back with me. I Just got knocked into orbit by my sparring partner."

"Oh, you mean Motoko!" Seta said with a smile. "Yes, how is everyone?"

"They're good, but why don't you ask them yourself?" Keisuke said.

Seta smiled again, "I sure will."

Sarah stared between the two and mumbled something along the line of "dorks..."

Keisuke chose to ignore this comment, and instead turned back to his new friend, "So Seta, what kind of ruins are these?" A nervous look seemed to wash over the mans face as Keisuke asked him this, and it seemed that he was hiding something.

"Well, that's really top secret information," he said, "you see, when we got there, we were met by government officials. They told us that they would oversee and finance the dig. If it weren't for that, then I wouldn't have the money to pay my part-timer."

Keisuke drew himself back, _Hiroyuki must be on the right track then. If what this man says is true, then he's already found the location of the site. _"That sounds...interesting," Keisuke said "Don't worry, I wont pursue this any further."

Seta nodded, "Thank you."

Sarah looked up at him and grinned sheepishly, "Daddy's also coming back to the hinata House for his sweetheart, aren't you?"

"Sarah! That's not true!" He grabbed the girl and started driving his knuckles into her forehead. "My wife owns a teahouse at the Hinata Dorms," he said while holding the struggling child down, "She's the house mother."

Keisuke blinked, "Your married to Haruka?"

Seta smiled, "Why yes, yes I am!" He laughed, "I take it you met her?"

"Like I said, I do live there. Im the landlords brother."

"Oh?" Seta said in curiosity, "Keitaro never told me anything about you..."

"It doesn't surprise me," Keisuke said, "We aren't very close..."

Seta puled out a cigarette and lit it, taking deep breaths and issuing smoke from his nose. His face seemed shrouded in smoke as he looked at Keisuke, his eyes full of wisdom, "Don't worry friend," he said, "Your brother will come around in time..."

Keisuke sighed and took another sip of his tea, he hoped so. There was nothing else in this world he wanted more than to be close to his brother. He looked up to him, wanted to protect him; he loved him dearly whether he showed it or not.

"Maybe one day..."

The sounds of the morning were carried past him with the wind, but his troubles seemed to stay.

oooooo

Keisuke climbed up the stairs just as Shinobu was serving lunch, "Im home," he said.

She bowed to him nervously, "Welcome home!"

Kitsune stood up from the others at the table, "Well I see you've brought a stranger in with you."

Seta laughed nervously, "Hello to you too, Kitsune..."

Naru walked up to him and bowed respectfully, along with Shinobu. Su, however, met him with a drop kick to the face. Standing up, he glanced around the table as Sarah ran over to Su and Shinobu, "Where's Haruka?"

"She's closing down at her shop," Keitaro said to the archeologist. The two shook hands, then Seta firmly punched him in the face. Laughing, Keitaro punched him back. The whole ritual seemed a little unnececary to Keisuke, but it seemed that at these apartments, violence was a regular thing.

The two sat down next to each other at the table and began talking, Sarah sat with Shinobu and Su, and on Su's other side sat Keisuke. Once again, she repeatedly stole Tempura off his plate, but he never confronted her; he merely learned to keep a watchful eye on his food.

His meal, however, was interrupted, as he heard a noise outside. "Excuse me," he said as he stood up. Motoko eyed him suspiciously, as did Keitaro and Seta.

He walked out to the hot springs to find the source of the sound. Staring at the water, he saw nothing there. He merely sighed to himself, _this whole thing has got me way too jumpy._

His thoughts were interrupted as a voice called out from the nothingness, it seemed to be carried on by the breeze that shook the trees, cherry blossoms cascading like a pink waterfall..

"I expected better from the Hand, but they send a mere weedling, Keisuke Urashima."

He closed his eyes to pinpoint the source of the sound, wishing for the moment that he had been holding his Katana when Motoko sent him flying. "A Magi is more than enough to kill you, Fae..." he said to the voice.

Fae walked out from behind a tree, his milky white eyes seeing all. Keisuke could see that he was grasping a stone in his hand, one that glowed slightly when he squeezed it. He knew what it was, and he also knew that it was deadly in the hands of the wrong person. Fae, indeed, was the wrong person.

"Who do you work for now?" Keisuke asked as Fae walked towards him, his cape gliding across the water.

"That, my friend, is none of your concern..." he said.

He felt it, there was another presence, someone else was watching their confrontation intently. "Are you a coward, Fae? Why not come at me alone? Is my power that intimidating to you?"

Gari landed next to him, the weight of his daito cracking the stone beneath him. He placed his hand on Keisuke's shoulder, "He would, if it weren't for our masters orders..." he said.

"So, I assume you're here for the Hina Blade," Keisuke said.

Gari leaned his head closer to him, his body not much smaller than Keisuke's, his long hair fell around his head like a shroudl. "Have you found it, Magi Keisuke Urashima?"

"I know where it is," he said, "but you will die before I find it, that is...unless you back down now."

"Im afraid we cant do that..." Fae said. At that moment Keisuke spun around in an attempt to jab Gari in the spine, but failed as he had already moved out of the way. Fae leaped at him, his fist preparing to smash the ground, but Keisuke grabbed his wrists and spun him around, sending him flying through the air into the wall. Gari rushed in, there was a flash of white, the sound of steel against steel, and he fell back. Motoko now stood before him, her sword drawn and ready.

"Im afraid I cant let you leave, worm!" she said, then turned back to Keisuke, "You have some explaining to do when this is over..."

He nodded, then rushed in on Fae as Motoko lunged at Gari. Their swords met as Keisuke and Fae threw punches left and right. They were both fast, and blocked all of each others attack, Fae blocked Keisuke's punches, but Keisuke avoided him all together for fear of his fist. He was clenching the Stone of Ashes, and it gave any person who held it increased strength. That, combined with the mans speed, made him a formidable opponent. He dodged another punch, ducked, and extended his palm into his stomach, throwing him back mere feet before the small man regained his ground. He leaped at him, Keisuke narrowly avoiding the kick, he vanished from his point, pulling a front flip over his attacker and landing softly behind him.

Motoko was having no problem with her opponent, however. Gari was suggestively strong, but very slow. She lashed out with her sword, causing cuts and nicks to appear on his body. Soon he would be hers, she thought, and her sword would plunge into his chest, skewering his heart.

She found that dodging his attacks was better, dancing around him wildly as cherry blossoms fell all around her, for when she blocked with her blade the sheer strength of his blows knocked her off her feet. She did not, however, risk taking to the air, for fear of falling victim to his exceptionally long daito.

She looked back at Keisuke just in time to see him kick his opponent into a tree, causing it to fall over, leaves falling on the motionless body of Fae. In the blink of an eye Keisuke appeared before him, his hands clutching his throat so tight he was drooling blood.

Gari took advantage of this distraction, however, and disarmed Motoko with a huge blow, sending her flying to the ground.

"Die wench!" he spat as he arced his sword high in the air, bring it down upon the girl. But the blade did not reach its mark. Motoko had kneeled down, stopping the blade with her bare hands as she saw Keisuke do it. "What?" he said, but was cut off, for in a heartbeat Motoko bended the blade, breaking off the very tip, and plunged it into his throat.

He stammered back, coughing up blood and making a hissing, gurgling sound, then fell to the ground, motionless. She turned to look at Keisuke, and noticed that all the Hinata residents were watching in horror as she ended the mans life. At that moment something deep within her snapped.

Keisuke squeezed Fae's neck harder, "Who sent you!?" he yelled in his face. Fae merely smiled, his hand shaking as he brought up the stone. He spat blood on it, and it began to glow blue, then exploded in Keisuke's face. His world went black.

oooooo

He came to in Shinobu's arms, and looked up at Motoko. His body was mangled, but everything was intact, save for a deep gash on his forehead, most of his clothes had been blown away, leaving his body nearly bare save for, luckily, his pants. The sun loomed over him, mocking him, as he struggled to his feet. "Thank you Shinobu," he said, then walked over to Motoko. Her eyes burned into him as he spoke to her, "where is Fae?"

She shook her head, "I don't know, his body isn't anywhere to be found..." she looked over at him, something inside her seemed different, "I think he escaped."

"Yes," he said through heavy breaths, "That is most li-Motoko!"

He clenched her body to his as she began to cry, "I killed him Keisuke! I killed him!" Keisuke never thought that she would have a problem with killing, but it seemed to him that everyone had to be broke in. He reacted much in the same way his first time. He kneeled down next to her, whispering in her ear "Its okay...what you did was right. You did it to protect them," he pointed at Shinobu, Naru, Keitaro, Seta, Haruka, Su, Kitsune, Sarah, and Motoko seemed to stop crying, "Its okay..." he whispered. He wiped the tears away from her cheeks. But natures tears, not hers, began to fall down her face as rain began to fall all around them. Sighing, he stood up and walked over to Keitaro, "Its up to you now, if you want to evacuate the residents, you can. I however, must stay to protect us all..." Then he looked around to everyone, "I swear, I wont let anyone lay a hand on you; It's a promise."

Those words rang in Keitaro's head for the rest of the day, even as the police were called and everything was investigated. He was briefly distracted as he saw Keisuke flash something in his wallet at the officer, and they firmly left.

_Promises...time takes us all, dear brother..._

Hollowheart- there ya go! Please review, I want to know what you all think. Oh, and I suppose its pretty easy to guess the mood theme of this chapter: waterfalls.

_Till next time_

_HollowHeart15_


	5. Revelations

Hollowheart- well, hello again, I would like to say that no I don't own love hina. If I did, the show would be ruined.

Do enjoy

Shadow of Intent

Revelations

Keisuke sat under the waterfall with his head cradled in his hands; the events of the day before proved far too stressful for him, he had never imagined that Motoko could break down like that. The fact that the enemy had sent key players such as Fae and Gari meant that they knew of his level of skill, and that there were two things that could happen next time. Either one, they will send out a spy to live among the residents, which Keisuke could do nothing about, or, two, they would dispatch someone far more powerful than the last, to utterly eliminate them. Keisuke realized just how much danger the residents were in, but because of the nature of the situation, he had to stay with them where they went.

Ensuring the safety of the artifact was top priority, but it was also equally important to him to protect his friends.

He looked up from his spot, while he had been thinking the sun had crept up past the horizon to sit in the middle of the sky, showing him that it was mid-day. He got up, the water no longer falling around him, and began to walk back to the dorms. All around him life went on as it did everyday, the birds were singing, trees and plants drank up water as they grew with every second. He could hear it, the sound of everything, the music of life itself surrounded him.

But this beautiful song did nothing to quell his aching head, and he resigned himself to, at last, show his face back at the Dorms.

Then he halted, for the blue haired chef stood before him.

She eyed him in wonder, "Have you been out here all this time?" she asked.

He nodded in return, "I had to think. Im sorry if I worried you."

"We've been looking everywhere for you, Keitaro told us everything, about how you're here to protect some unknown artifact, and how you were sent here to do so, and about how you vowed to protect us..." Keisuke sighed in relief, he hadn't told them what the artifact was, for, if he had, they would immediately know its location. As nim-witted as his brother may be, Keitaro still had a few lights on in his head. "That was very nice of you, Keisuke..." she said, blushing, "Thank you."

He stared into her soul, and he saw there all the things that were going through her head. There was fear, fear for her friends, lust, the lust to do something about this whole situation, and a faint sense of adoration. _Could it be that she likes me?_

She looked up into his eyes, "At any rate, im here to take you home. We need to find out what to do next."

He smiled warmly at her, brushing a stray hair from her face, "Thank you, Shinobu-chan..."

She blushed to the point where she was beet red. "Y-Yes, well, lets go" she said nervously.

Keisuke couldn't help but chuckle inwardly as they walked back to the apartments.

oooooo

"So what now?" Naru demanded.

"I don't know!" said Keitaro, holding his head, "Ask him." He pointed at Keisuke, who for the most part was ready for this from the moment it came about.

Keisuke looked at the residents, the question still lingering in the air. "The Hinata Apartments are no longer safe for any of you," he said, glancing at Seta, who seemed to be listening with intent interest, "There is, however, a safe house you can stay at."

"Where?" Kitsune asked.

"Well, there's a place that me and a friend of mine stay at," he said, uncomfortable under all of their stares, "you can go there. I will have to take the artifact with me AND accompany you for your protection."

"Where is this spoken artifact?" Seta asked. Keisuke could read him like a book, he understood fully what was going on, he knew what the artifact was and who had it. He probably even knew who was looking for it.

He sighed, then produced a small stone from his pocket, it seemed to glow different colors in different lights. The residents all looked on in wonder, all but Seta and Keitaro, who both knew that it wasn't the real thing. To him, though, it seemed that for the time the other residents had bought it.

"My house even has a hot spring, one far larger than this. It would feel just like home, and there I can protect you better."

Motoko nodded, "Yes, that certainly would be a turn for the better."

"So its settled then," Haruka said.

oooooo

"Goodbye Hinata House..." Su said sadly on the great steps as she turned to the Mecha-Tama, now prepped and ready for flight.

Motoko put her hand on her shoulder, "It'll be okay, well come back here once this is all over."

"Does everyone have their things?" Seta shouted, his voice nearly in-audible due to the jet on Mecha-Tama

Keitaro turned around, checking to make sure everyone was ready, then he turned to Seta, "Yea! Were good to go!"

"Okay!" he said, then leaped up on to the passenger seat.

Keisuke sat cross-legged near the front, watching the controls intently. He leaned over to Su, "You sure this thing works?" he asked.

She nodded to him glumly, "Yep yep!" she said with a smile, "Su's inventions always work!"

He grimaced as she referred to herself in the third person, _This can only end badly..._

Haruka leaned over her husband and patted him on the cheek as Kitsune plopped down next to Keisuke. "Well now," she said, "I do believe you owe me something...now that were ready for a celebration."

Annoyed, Keisuke grabbed the bottle of sake she held and lunged it over the side. "Hey! What'd you do that for!"

"Relax," he said, "I did us all a favor."

Naru laughed at the two as she helped Keitaro load the last of their things. She turned to Su, "Okay were all prepped and ready to go!"

"I hope this goes okay..." Shinobu muttered quietly, just load enough so that Keisuke could hear her.

He turned around and put a hand on her shoulder, "Everything will be fine, don't worry so much..." She melted inside as he smiled at her warmly.

Motoko looked over at him, "Maybe you should concentrate on the navigation..."

"Oh yea!" He said as he turned back to Su, "You ready to go?"

"Ready when you are!" she said, "Just lead the way!" The sound of the Mecha-Tama taking off was heard over the entire town of Hinata. "At least we went out with a bang!" she said.

oooooo

"So...Gari has been slain?" said a figure from behind a waterfall, shaded by the darkness of night..

Fae was in the wilderness. Surrounded by bamboo and trees, he kneeled in front of a waterfall. "Yes master..." he said, his voice nervous and shaky. "He was killed by the Aoyoma girl"

A shifting sound was made behind the waterfall, followed by a light chuckle. The mans voice was reminiscent in the moonlight, "Perhaps we should pay our old friend a visit..."

"But..." Fae stammered, "What about Gari?"

The voice suddenly became very cold, "What about him? He was useless to me anyways..."

Fae bit back hatred and loathing, "Yes, father."

"Fae, wait," the voice said as he turned to walk away, "If you fail me again, ill ensure that you meet the same fate as Gari."

"Y-yes sir," he said, then disappeared into the night.

oooooo

The tenants slept soundlessly as the Mecha-Tama glided through the sky. Clouds shaded the stars as they swam through them, the air crisp and cool. The machine was on auto-pilot, flying them safely to the destination that Keisuke had picked out on the G.p.s. They would be there in the matter of hours, Keisuke figured, but for now he would enjoy the night sky. The city of Tokyo below them glowed neon, and before they were shrouded in clouds once again, Keisuke caught a hint of redness in the near full moon.

"Trouble sleeping with a heavy heart?" Seta's voice was muffled by the wind, but it was carried to Keisuke's ears all the same.

He looked back at the archeologist, a fire burning in his eyes, "I didn't ask for any of this, Seta. I cant help Zanzi's actions..."

"I know you cant," he said lighting a cigarette, the flame barely reaching its mark as the wind blew it around, "but could you live with it if anything were to happen to them?"

"No," Keisuke said, turning from Seta's glare, "It would be like losing my family. Until I found these people, I really had no place to call home. I wouldn't consider the training grounds of The Hand a homely place to be..."

"I wouldn't either," Seta said, taking a deep drag...

Keisuke looked at him abruptly, "I didn't realize how much you knew until now," he said, "are you working for the government?"

Seta blew smoke from his nose, "Im what your kind would call a lone wolf...Im the sheep that's lost its way from the Shepard..."

"How did you find out about all this?" Keisuke asked, cursing himself at thinking that the man was naive at all.

"I had a friend in the archeology department who headed research on the ruins, and he told me about the carvings depicting the coming of the artifact, and judgement day." Seta paused, gathering words in his head, "I think he met up with someone one day who knew about it..." Keisuke could see lines of worry on the mans forehead, "Its dangerous for him to learn of such things, and now, as I cant seem to help it, im in this up to my eyeballs..."

Keisuke laughed at him, "This isn't your fight, Seta. You do seem to be very experienced in martial arts, but your in with another realm of warriors here..."

He looked at keisuke, his eyes dropping below his glasses, "You have no idea how good I am, kid. And as for you, I know all about the Magi. I used to work for the government myself...until they turned on me..."

"What happened?" Keisuke asked, curious.

Seta laid back down, his head resting in his arms as they folded behind his back, "Id rather not say. Get some rest."

Keisuke, however, did not find comfort. Sleep couldn't seem to come to him no matter how hard he tried. The impending sense of doom was like caffeine running in his veins.

oooooo

Hirosuke rushed through the trees, hot in pursuit of his target. The warrior seemed to gain distance every time she left his view, but he gained on her all the same. Her long blonde hair and tan skin glistened with sweat in the moonlight.

He passed several patches of bamboo, and at last they came to an open plain area. Here, she ceased her running, and Hirosuke ceased his pursuit.

"Are you the one Hiroyuki told me about?" he called out, she smiled at him.

"So you're his brother, eh?" she said as the wind became to pick up. "I sent him running back home with his tail between his legs!"

"Hes still just a kid, but I, however, am not to be taken lightly..." A chain slipped from his sleeve and draped down his arm, resting against his thumb.

She laughed maliciously, "You seem so sure of yourself, Magi!" She pulled a long, silver flute from her pocket.

Hirosuke stared in confusion, she intended to play music? "This is your last chance, tell me where Zanzi is, or ill be forced to kill you..."

She chuckled, "I don't think that will be happening..." With this she lifted the flute to her lips and played a note, and before her appeared a glowing crossbow. As she pulled it back, cocking it, a glowing bolt of electricity appeared inside of it. "Unlike you, however, I will not hesitate. You will die where you stand!"

The bolt flew from her gun and raced across the plains, the grass blowing under it as it went. Hirosuke began to leap out of the way, but was to no avail as it caught him in the left flank. Blood spurted everywhere as he fell to the ground.

"Damn it!" he cursed, spitting blood from his mouth. The woman laughed as he slowly pulled himself up, shaking at first, but regaining his posture. His wound had already stopped issuing blood, however, and he once again pulled his hands up, the chain hanging down, to a fighting position. His body twitched quickly, then he rushed at her, swinging the short chain as he went.

Her heel dug into the ground as she rolled to the side, but as he slid past her he whipped the chain around, its length magically increasing, and tripped her up. In an instant he brought it back up into the air, but she had moved before it slammed into the ground, cracking the stones under it.

He cursed to himself as she disappeared into the darkness, but made no attempt to catch her. He sighed as the chain slithered back up his arm, seeming to vanish into his robes.

"Damn" he muttered to himself, then turned away to return to the government compound.

oooooo

Their arrival was greeted by the rising sun. The tenants all stepped off the Mecha-Tama to look in wonder at Keisuke's home. It was huge, nearly twice the size of the Hinata Dorms, and was three stories tall, with a balcony on top of the roof, and another on the side. On the other side was a porch that overlooked a giant hot spring, which seemed to be as big as a small lake.

"Look at this place!" Su shouted as she ran in, kicking the door down and dropping her things all over the floor. Keisuke put his palm to his head.

"It certainly is nice," Naru said, "Where do we put our things?"

"All the rooms on the top floor are for guests, so just pick one and make yourself at home. The kitchen is on the second floor, and all other utilities are on the bottom."

"How did you get a place like this?" Keitaro asked.

"It was given to me and my partner," he said, "This is how the government spends their money." Kitsune and Motoko chuckled as they walked into the huge house.

The whole place was surrounded by a giant forest and if one were looking on the map, they would see nothing but green, with an odd opening just big enough to accommodate the House and Hot Springs, along with a bare spot roughly the size of a football field.

"Jeez...I hope Hirosuke doesn't kill me for this..."

oooooo

Setsu sat at his desk in the main office of The Hand's headquarters as Hirosuke bowed before him. "Take a seat," he said, making a waving notion with his hand.

"Thank you, sir," he said, and took a seat in a small leather chair in front of the desk. Setsu wore a large grey suit, a youthful man he was, maybe in his mid thirties, yet he held a smoking cigar from his finger tips like he was an old man in the Yakuza.

"Tell me what happened, I received a report from your brother, but I hear you have encountered this mysterious woman too."

"Yes, Mr. Setsuya, I found her at a club just a few miles west of here, called 'Revelations'," Hirosuke said, then paused, the name revelations must be a reference to the book in he holy bible, he made a mental note to go back to the place and investigate. "Anyways I pursued her into the wilderness, where, as you can see," he showed Setsu the bloody marks on his white shirt, "We had a little showdown."

"Im assuming she got away?" he asked.

Hirosuke nodded, "She's good, sir. She's a fast one, maybe not as fast as Keisuke, but she's got it. She also has a curious weapon." He held his hand out, "It's a flute about this long, and when she played it a glowing crossbow appeared out of thin air, and she shot from it electricity."

Setsu raised his eyebrow, "An elemental? I haven't seen one since we killed Raken, the elemental of Earth. Sure, another has been born, but he, or she, must be an infant by now."

"Yes," Hirosuke said, "None the less, she seems to have a bit of control of electricity with that instrument of hers..." He leaned back in the chair, "We should try to keep her away from our dear Kita..."

"That would be potentially deadly for her," Setsu said with a sigh. "Ill see to it that we put her in the confinement cell until this woman is taken care of..."

Hirosuke bit back harsh words, the confinement cell was a plain white room, and it did horrible things to the human psyche. When someone went into that room, they usually didn't come out for months. He feared for Kita's mental safety, thinking back to his time he spent in the room. The experience was horrible on his mind, making him quiet and reserved. It had taken him years to overcome it...

"Is there anything else to report?" Setsu asked as he flicked his cigar over the ash tray.

"No sir," he said, nodding.

"Very well then, I want you to file a report on this incident, giving all the information on the woman you can, then return to Keisuke. From what I've gathered hes taken up headquarters with the artifact at your place, a wise choice."

Something ticked inside Hirosuke's head as he bowed in respect to his master, "Yes sir." he said, then promptly left the room for the media center.

Setsu took a drag from his cigar, leaning back in his chair. He looked out to the birds flying outside over the compound, "This is getting bad..." he said to himself.

oooooo

They all sat around the table as they ate the meal Shinobu had prepped for them. "Did you didn't everything you needed in the kitchen, Shinobu?" Keisuke asked her in between bites.

"Yes," she nodded "You keep this place well stocked..."

"You going to eat that?" Su asked as she leaned over his plate. Keisuke couldn't help but find her extremely cute when she looked like that.

"Yes!" he said as he snatched his food away, "You really shouldn't go around eating all that much, that's probably where you get all that energy from." Or maybe it's the other way around, he thought to himself.

Motoko expressed the same reaction as Su tried desperately to steal food off of her plate and put it on her empty one.

"Quite a place you have here," Naru commented, as she ate a bite.

"Thank you," Keisuke said with a smile.

Kitsune leaned across the table at Naru, "Now now you two, id better not hear some strange moaning through the walls tonight, you hear? You kept me up all of last week!"

Keitaro nearly gagged at what she said, and Naru immediately blushed violent red. "Damn it Kitsune!" she screamed as she leaped across the table. The two fled off through the halls as everyone began to laugh.

"Just like home..." Motoko said, and Keisuke responded with a smile (which Su and Sarah, to Seta's distaste, mimicked next to him).

"Hirosuke should be here any day now..." he said as he strangled the girl under his arms, "We need to clean up a little bit tomorrow..."

"Ten four!" Shinobu said, saluting him. They all began to laugh as they heard the sound of Kitsune flying through the roof.

oooooo

Neon lights pursued him overhead as Hirosuke made his way into the club. Techno music played in the background the beat so powerful that it vibrated in the vodka in his glass. He pushed his was through the crowd, walking up the marble steps to the 'Onyx Room' so that he may observe some of the more VIP guests.

As he entered the room, however, he gasped at what he saw. All of the people there seemed normal on the outside, however, their ki levels were different. They were excessively large, and had the strangest patters he had ever seen. The ki levels of Animals (this including humans) generally formed a simple glowing outline around their bodies, changing due to its surroundings, but these patters were different. They were erratic, pushing and pulling like tides, and they swirled around them like a tornado. He had only seen one other ki level like this, and it was on Zanzi himself.

"Oni..." he muttered as he exited the room. He moved backwards until he bumped into a large body. Startled, he turned around to look at a large bald, shirtless man, with tattoos all over his body. His aura, however, was normal.

"What do we have here? A Magi?" he said.

Hirosuke stumbled backwards, then realized he was being crazy. "Who are you?" he asked, "And whats up with everybody here?"

The man popped his neck, his head creeping to each side, "It seems you've stumbled upon one of our little portals, haven't you?" Suddenly it struck him. This place was a dwelling, a portal, for the demons of the Demonic Plane to command go as they pleased. It was hell on eart, almost literally. He suddenly had the faint idea that this was what Zanzi wanted with the Pools of Time, but it passed just as it had came as the man got closer to him, a somber expression appearing on his face.

"Leave now, I don't want to hurt anyone here..." he whispered under the sound of the voices around him, "Don't come back if you know what's good for you."

Hirosuke gulped, then nodded. As he left, he felt thankful to whatever it was that had saved him, for when he realized where he was he was almost sure that death would follow.

oooooo

The moon was aglow with crimson, and to Keisuke it seemed as if someone had stabbed it, its life's blood pouring from it. The stars were reflected purple in its wake.

Suddenly Keisuke heard movement behind him. He turned around from the balcony to see a beautiful woman standing on the rooftop, bearing a guitar and playing the most beautiful melody he had ever heard. The sound of it seemed to entrance him, almost as much as her beauty beyond compare. She stopped playing as she saw him, "Well hello..."

She leaped down agilely, and landed right next to hem. He was dumbstruck; this girl was probably the most beautiful person he had ever seen. "Who are you, and how did you get here?" he asked.

"Cant you tell silly?" she said, putting a finger on his cheek as she leaned close, "Its me!"

"Wait...Su?" he gasped.

"I prefer to be called Kaolla," she said.

They both sat down, "What happened, you look so different..." Indeed, it looked as if she had grown four years in the matter of minuets, and her personality had matured almost as much, but she still had that hint of immaturity.

She sighed as she looked up into the moon, "In my homeland, when the moon is reflected on the sands of the desert when it is full it becomes red. I have a curse placed upon me by my brother, who wanted to see me grow up so fast.." she had a hint of sadness in her voice as she said this, "and every time I gaze upon it, I transform four years older..."

Keisuke was at a loss for words, this was so much for him to take in at once. "I've seen some crazy stuff, Su...I mean, Kaolla," as he said this she looked up and smiled at him, "but this has got to top it off. I didn't think transfiguration really existed."

The look of sadness washed across her features again, "Sadly, this kind of thing only lasts one night a month..." She looked up at him, "Keisuke...Im so glad you came to us..." she said as she buried her head in his shoulder.

He could smell her hair as his heart lightened. For the first time in his life, he felt as though he had been allowed something. His heart seemed to become light, as if weight were lifted off his chest.

He leaned his head on hers, "Me too Kaolla..." he said as they drifted off to sleep.

Hollowheart- Well, how did you like that? I just had to put a little romance in there, but sadly you can tell this will end badly because of Su's compromising position. And to the anonymous reviewers, I always like to start my stories off short, but the chapters are indeed getting longer. Anyways, leave some reviews!

_Till next time_

_Hollowheart15_


	6. Dawn of Recollections

Hollowheart- Hey. Heres another chapter. Enjoy.

And I don't own love hina

Shadow of Intent

Dawn of Recollections

Keisuke awoke on the tiled roof of the house, the sun bearing into his soul. It seemed to dry him out as he turned to his side, only to find that there was nobody there. "Could last night have been a dream?" he asked himself as he got up.

A gentle breeze blew through his hair, causing his eyes to squint in the sunrise, he supposed it didn't really matter, but still, it felt so real.

The sounds of Motoko swatting her seething blade at keitaro were heard beneath him, and he jumped to the side as Keitaro came flying through the roof next to him. "Your fixing that!" he said.

"Good Morning!" shouted Keitaro as he flew into the hot springs, only to be batted away by a naked Naru. As he seemed about to land, however, Su came out of nowhere (and I mean this quit literally, she just appeared there) and blasted im in mid-air with a rocket. There was an explosion, followed by Keitaro falling out of the sky, or, his smoking remains at least.

Keisuke laughed, "What have I gotten myself into?"

oooooo

After breakfast, the residents began to work on the house, Keitaro repairing the holes in the roof, Su using one of her huge machines to fix the door she had previously destroyed.

Shinobu and Sarah ran across the floor with rags, Naru coming behind them with a polisher. Motoko was intent on cleaning up the unusually large basement, which, she seemed intent on making into a training room, for she continuously carried armfuls of things: matts, Kodachis, Katanas etc.

The location of Seta and Haruka was unknown to Keisuke as he nailed fresh boards into the floor in places that had become old.

After a few minuets, Su came up to him riding on the back of a two legged machine that seemed to have a multi-use tool mounted on the front. The feelings of the night before immediately rushed back to him as he sweat dropped, wondering where she got these machines from.

To him, the experiences of the night before seemed like just a dream, and he began to truly wonder if it was a dream all along. Su seemed unaware of anything as she spoke to him, "Keisuke! I need your help with something!" she said with a happy smile, eating a banana.

He sighed as he finished his current board, then got up and walked over to her, "What do you need?"

"Just follow me" she said. They walked out behind the house, to the opposite side of the hot springs, where Keisuke face faulted.

"Your supposed to ask before you build things!" he yelled frantically. Before them was a shed that was almost bigger than the house, but not quite. It was laid out just the same, except it seemed to be only one huge floor with an understudy.

"Im sorry!" she said, hurt, "I needed a place to build my inventions!" Keisuke slapped himself in the face as she continued, "The one I had under the Hinata House was much bigger, you should have seen it."

"Fine..." he grumbled, "Just don't make it any bigger. We might have to tear this down once Hirosuke gets here..."

"I hope not..." she whimpered.

Keisuke walked back into the house to resume his work, noticing the rush all around him. Shinobu and Sarah had completed their house work, and had tuned to tending a garden. Naru had gone up to take Keitaro's place, the sounds of her pounding the replacement tiles in place rang in his ears.

Keitaro, however, appeared right in front of Keisuke. "Keisuke..." he said.

"What is it, brother?" he asked.

"I just wanted to thank you...I get the strange feeling that you volunteered for this position of protecting us, and I know you didn't ask for any of this...You've done so much for us, thank you." Keitaro smiled at him warmly, and in him Keisuke saw that somewhere, in that icy cold heart of his, something was melting.

"Anything for you, Brother..." he said, then paused, "Speaking of brother, whatever happened to Kanako? I heard she was living with you for awhile."

Something snapped inside of Keitaro's head, "OOPS! I forgot about that!" he said, shocked.

Keisuke laughed, "Its okay, im sure shell find her way around her eventually...She has more resources than me and Hirosuke do." _Which is saying a lot_, he finished. The raven-haired girl could eventually prove a valuable asset to them once they had gotten everything together. Surely the enemies that would be pursuing them would be far stronger than the previous ones.

"Now that I think about it..." Keisuke said, "Its been years since I've seen our beautiful sister."

Keitaro sweat dropped, this seemed to spur something inside him, Keisuke thought. "Yes...beautiful indeed," he said nervously.

"So, you just gonna stand there, or will you help me out?" Keisuke grinned.

"Sure," Keitaro said. They went back into the house and Keitaro began to hand the boards off to Keisuke as he placed them in the floor and ceiling.

Keisuke sighed, "I hate hard work so much..."

oooooo

At the end of the day, keisuke slipped out of his shirt and fell on his bed, his jeans still on. It felt so good to be in his own bed again, it felt as if he were back in his mothers arms...

Sleep took him.

oooooo

A young Keisuke, barely five years old, looked at the two adults as they spoke of his future. Even at this early age, he understood everything they said.

"So you'll take him then?" said his mother, her eyes weary with stress.

Granny Hina looked down at the boy and nodded, "This boy has the makings of greatness, even if you don't see it..."

"I just want him out of my life, there's no room for another son with Keitaro and Kanako already around, no room in my heart..."

A look of distaste overcame Granny Hina, "If that is your wish, then id be happy to comply..." she said sadly. She looked down at the boy and smiled, "Come on Keisuke..."

oooooo

Now a young Keisuke, this time only seven years old, stood alone as he watched the police restrain a rough looking man.

"He's evil I tell you!" he spat at Keisuke, "Don't trust that innocent look!"

One of the cops cuffed him in the head, the man falling down to the ground. The man glared at Keisuke as the cops put him in the car, "Your no son of mine..." he said.

He could almost feel the tears before they stung his cheeks.

oooooo

He stood wielding a Boku, now nine years old, swinging it to and fro.

"No, you hold it like this, Keisuke" Granny Hina said, holding her sword with one hand over the other, barely centimeters apart.

He tried it out, and found that swinging the sword with this new grip was much easier. "Thank you!" he said, bowing to the elderly lady.

"Oh, your quite welcome..." Granny Hina said with a chuckle.

From that day on, Keisuke began training in the art of killing, as was his grandmothers wish.

oooooo

It was his first day of the seventh grade as a twelve year old Keisuke walked down the halls of the school. All around him children were running and laughing, catching up with their friends from the summer before.

After his first two classes, some kids stopped him in the hall.

"Where's your mommy?" the eighth grader said, pushing him in the opposite direction he was walking.

Keisuke looked down, shielding his eyes from the boy's gaze. He bore no answer.

"Hey!" said the other eighth grader, "He asked you a question!" he said as he pulled Keisuke up by his shirt collar, punching him in the face. Keisuke spat blood as he flew to the floor, struggling to get up.

"My daddy says that you don't have a mommy..." the boy said with a sheepish grin, "She must not care about you at all..." His words never finished coming out of his mouth, because Keisuke had run after him, punching the other boy out of the way, releasing a tooth from his mouth. His hands clenched the boys throat, and even though the eighth grade boy was slightly bigger than him, he picked him up off the ground, running him into the wall.

He leaned in close, "My mother is dead you ass..." he muttered, his eyes dark, cold, pitiless. Then he turned around, throwing the boy off the balcony, the tendons in his arm popping as he did so. The boy fell to the ground with a sickening thud, his blood splattering from his mouth and stomach all over the pavement. He had died upon impact.

"You sick little fk!" the other boy yelled as he charged him. Even though Keisuke's arm was broken, he still took the other one, planting it firmly on the ground, and spun around with the strength he had, laying the boy across the face with is out of commissioned arm. The boy flew into the wall, trailing blood from the back of his head as he slid down. His eyes began to go in and out of focus, then he slowly lost consciousness. Keisuke had no idea if the boy was alive or dead, and he would never find out.

He blacked out as he heard another student run down the hall, screaming "Oh my god! He killed him! Someone call an ambu..."

The next thing he knew he was sitting in the principles office, held still by two officers. A boy across from him, named Hirosuke (according to his name badge) spoke to him, "Don't feel bad...He deserved it."

"I know..." Keisuke said, his voice shaky.

"Silence!" the cop said to him.

Hirosuke paused for a moment under the cops scathing commands, then looked back at Keisuke, "Its okay...I was abandoned too..."

oooooo

Keisuke was shaking when he awoke, and he felt marks on his cheeks where tears seemed to flow freely from his eyes. He sat up; he hadn't had a dream like that in a long time. It was rare that he went back to his childhood.

_But that doesn't matter anymore..._

He walked to the window to discover that the sun had already risen high in the sky. He looked over to his alarm clock, which he realized was still beeping. The time read eleven o five. He walked over to the clock and turned it off, cursing himself for missing Shinobu's wonderful meal.

As he walked downstairs, however, he heard a knock on the door. As he opened it, he was greeted by none other than his partner, Hirosuke. "About time you opened this damn thing up..." he said, "I told you to never keep that door locked."

"Oh...sorry" Keisuke said as he sweat dropped.

Hirosuke closed the door behind him, "So what's the deal? I hear you have a full house? And I DID notice the giant dome outside..."

Keisuke scratched the back of his head nervously, "Yes...that's Kaolla's workshop..."

"I see..." said Hirosuke, scratching his chin. He had short, spiked black hair, and green eyes that seemed to glow over everything else, and a little bit of scruff on his chin. He wore a robe, with various rings on his fingers, and a large metal band on his left hand, one he used for smashing objects under his fists.

Hirosuke leaned in closer to him, "Have you been crying man?"

Keisuke rubbed his eyes, "I don't know...I had one of those dreams again."

Hirosuke backed off, "Im sorry man," then he changed the topic, "So where are these friends of yours?"

"Probably in the dining room eating lunch, oh yea, we moved it to the second floor with the kitchen.."

"Dude, just stop talking about that stuff, its really starting to piss me off..." he said as he walked upstairs.

Around five minuets later, he walked back down with a relieved expression on his face, "Well now..." he said, "At first I was a bit worried about having guests, but then I saw that they were mostly hot chicks..." he grinned, "So I think it'll be okay..."

Keisuke groaned, he could definitely tell what was going through Hirosuke's head. All the boy seemed to think about in his spare time was girls, girls, and more girls.

"So did you introduce yourself?" Keisuke asked.

Hirosuke put on his most serious face, "Well of course..." For some reason Keisuke couldn't take him seriously at all.

oooooo

As they sat at the table for dinner, Shinobu had brought out rice and spicy curry as the main dish, which made Su's mouth water endlessly. They all laughed as Hirosuke made jokes from his seemingly endless arsenal, occasionally hitting on the girls.

Kitsune, in particular, seemed to have taken a liking to him.

Keisuke sighed, getting up from his chair and leaving the room, "Excuse me," he said.

He got out to the balcony as Seta came up behind him. "My friend is dead," he said calmly, looking out at the stars.

Keisuke looked over at him abruptly, "What? Who?"

"The one who told me about this whole mess. Your order killed him. I guess he knew too much."

"No..." said Keisuke, "That cant..." his words failed him. What Seta had said rang with nothing but pure truth.

He turned to Keisuke, "The Hand is nothing but pawns, Keisuke. Don't let yourself be used..."

He looked down to the ground, "I need some time" he said, and without a word, retired to his room. Seta could see no emotion on the boys face as he said this. He sighed, leaning over the balcony, "He had to know sooner or later..." he said as Haruka came up behind him.

She put a loving hand on his shoulder, "Im sorry, sweetheart," she said, leaning her head on his arm, "What's important is that where both here now..."

Seta smiled, "Yea baby," he said, "But im not so sure how things will be working out from now on..."

oooooo

Hollowheart- well there you go, not as long as the last one. And yes, Keisuke has a messed up past if you couldn't already tell. I may go into more detail with this later on in the series, but for now just wait till the next chapter.

_Till next time_

_Hollowheart15_


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